Blue
Beach Dulag is a beautiful beach and historic World War II landing site
on the Leyte Gulf. It is situated at barangays (villages) San Rafael, Luan and San
Jose in the municipality of Dulag, Leyte. I should have said
'once' beautiful because the beach is currently suffering serious erosion
eminating from the south end of the beach immediately beside the Rock World Industries
(RWI) property.

Blue
Beach is 3.2 kilometres long running south to north along the western
shore of the Leyte Gulf. San Jose (beach front 1.4 kilometres long) at
the northern end, Luan (850 metres) in the centre, and San Rafael (950
metres) at the southern end. Blue Beach naturally runs in a straight
line from a rocky point just north of the Calbasag River at the south end to a
rocky point at the mouth of the Libiranan River at he northern end.

RWI
is a large sand, gravel and rock business fronting the national highway
in San Rafael . It's highway frontage is opposite 'Hill120', an historic site where the
American flag was first raised during the liberation in October 1944.
At the foreshore the property narrows to about 80 metres where there is
a small beach 'resort'. This is 300 metres from the south end of the
beach. On the foreshore beside RWI is a monument commemorating the spot
where the first allied troops stomed ashore in 1944.

In
1997 RWI constructed a 'projecting wharf' in the
form of a solid causeway extending out from the foreshore at the back of
the RWI property (wharf causeway), allegedly without a licence or payment
of permit
fees. [Source: letter from concerned Dulag residents to the Philippine
Ports Authority (PPA) uploaded to facebook]. This wharf causeway served as a
loading point for sand and gravel on to barges for transport by sea.
Not surprisingly, the wharf causeway caused a build up of sand on the south
(updrift)
side and erosion on the north (downdrift) side of the structure, as
this satellite picture taken in late 2006 clearly shows (The erosion
has considerably worsened since then with the extension of the wharf
groyne and the building of cove groyne - see below).

The
wharf causeway was not used for a number of years but remained as two parallel
concrete walls. Then in 2009 the owner of RWI commenced a project
to fill in the gap between these walls, bolster the sides of the wharf
with concrete waste and extend the wharf some 20 metres. The concrete
used was waste from the reblocking of the highway.

Wharf causeway 2008

Wharf causeway 2011

In conjunction with
this RWI built a second smaller structure at the north eastern corner of
the RWI property to block public access along the beach and form a
private cove in front of the resort (cove wall).This
activity, of course, worsened the build up of sand on the updrift side
and caused further serious erosion on the downdrift side. It was done with complete
disregard for the environment and to the property holders and residents along the beach. The smaller cove wall is an eyesore; it is an obstruction for people walking along the beach and has added considerably to the already serious erosion.

When
further
erosion in behind the cove wall started, RWI added more concrete
rubble near the northern side of
the property (actually on the property next door) following the curved
shape of the erosion. This caused a
more swirling action by the waves making the erosion much worse. Beside
the cove wall the beach head has moved a further 25 metres inland.
This has caused the
beach head to change its position and the erosion has moved slowly and
surely north along the beach uprooting rows of coconut trees, downing
fences and threatening houses. The beach on the north side of RWI is
now 80 metres inland from the beach on the south side of RWI.

Cove wall, the beach contines south from out at the end of the wharf causeway in the background.

Wharf causeway from the south side almost buried by the build up sand

Our
land is 400 metres north of RWI. According to our title plan our land
extends for another 25 metres beyond where the beach head now is.
Blocks closer to RWI have lost considerably more land to the sea than
that. Why don't the authorities conduct a survey to determine how much
land has been lost to the erosion?

Residents
have raised the problem through the San Rafael Barangay Chairman, the
Mayor of Dulag (Document 01) and the Department of Environment
and Natural
Resources (DENR). Responding to a letter signed by myself and 50 other
residents of San Rafael (Document 02), Officers from Provincial
Environment and Natural
Reasources Office (PENR) visited the site on 17
December 2010 and concluded that 'there was no erosion in the
area' (near RWI). (Really!)

We sent a follow-up
letter to DENR on 11 January 2011 (Document 03). After being
informed the matter was being referred to the Mines and GeoServices
Bureau (MGB) we emailed MGB to ensure they knew our
position on the situation (Document 04)

Those
who trivialise the effect of the groynes and rather seek to blame tne
erosion on 'natural factors' or the ongoing small scale gravel
extraction along the beaches in the area, must answer the
following questions:

Why does the the beach suddenly end at
the south end of RWI and restart 85 metres inland at the north end
of RWI?;

why did the serious erosion start at RWI and move north along
the beach?;

why does the erosion get worse as you move south towards
RWI and then suddenly end?;

why haven't other beaches in the region suffered erosion as serious as that suffered at Blue Beach?

Blue
Beach is a major historical site. It is the place where MacArthur's
troops first landed in October 1944. It is arguably the place where
MacArthur himself first stepped ashore. On clear day from Blue Beach
you can see Homonhon Island out in the Gulf where Magellan first
landed in the Philippines and where the first Mass was held in the
Philippines. The naval Battle for the Leyte Gulf off the coast here
remains the largest naval battle in history in terms of tonnage. The
importance of the battles for Leyte can not be understated:

The Battle of Leyte launched the Allied reconquest of the entire Philippine
archipelago and the end of the Japanese occupation of the country. It was at
Leyte that the Japanese High Command staked everything. Their defeat hastened
Japan’s downfall. The losses suffered by the Japanese were heavy; 49,000 troops
were killed while the Imperial Japanese Navy lost 26 major warships, 46 large
transport ships, and hundreds of merchant ships. The Allied forces recaptured
Leyte with minimal losses – only 3,504 killed in action. The Allied victory
gained for them a major bastion upon which the Japanese homeland could be
destroyed.

66th Anniversary of Leyte Landing, Manila Bulletin, October 19, 2010

Blue
Beach should be treated as a sacred place to be admired for its beauty
and
respected for its historical significance. A place where
men sacrificed their lives to end the horrors of the Japanese
occupation. A place where across the water the first Mass was
celebrated in the Philippines. A place where tourists should be
welcomed to admire its beauty and contemplate the sacrifices made.

Instead what do we have? An ugly, destructive monument to greed at the very spot where the allied troops first came ashore in 1944..
A beach wrecked by the resulting erosion. A community unwilling or
unable to do anything about it. National Government Departments
seemingly powerless to do anything about it. It is Dulag's shame!

1. Satellite picture of the area before the cove wall was built and the wharf causeway was extended:

2. With the cove wharf and extended causeway wharf drawn in, illustrating the increased erosionon the north side and the build up of sand on the south aside